It’s conference tournament season.
Well, not for everyone. The CAA and America East, for example, still need to finish up the regular season this week. But the ACC and Big Ten, the two conferences with several teams capable of taking a run at the title, kick off this week.
The all-important automatic qualifier means more than ever for teams like Michigan, which closed the regular season with two losses to Johns Hopkins and might not have the resume for an at-large bid as a result. Same goes for Virginia Tech, which has had a rough go of things in the ACC and even after a win over Virginia, the Hokies could still benefit greatly from a run through the conference tournament.
Anything can happen when it comes to postseason conference tournaments, so grab a snack and buckle up. The next two weeks are going to be fun.
Nike / US Lacrosse
Division I Women’s Top 20
April 26, 2021 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | 15-0 | 1 | 4/28 vs. Louisville (ACC tournament) |
| 2 | Northwestern | 11-0 | 2 | TBD |
| 3 | Syracuse | 12-2 | 3 | 4/28 vs. Virginia Tech (ACC tournament) |
| 4 | Boston College | 12-2 | 4 | 4/28 vs. No. 14 Virginia (ACC tournament) |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 8-5 | 5 | 4/28 vs. No. 7 Duke (ACC tournament) |
| 6 | Stony Brook | 10-2 | 6 | 4/28 at New Hampshire |
| 7 | Duke | 12-1 | 7 | 4/28 vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (ACC tournament) |
| 8 | Florida | 13-2 | 10 | 4/28 vs. Liberty |
| 9 | Loyola | 9-2 | 11 | TBD |
| 10 | Drexel | 12-1 | 13 | TBD |
| 11 | Richmond | 10-1 | 12 | 4/30 vs. Saint Joseph's (A-10 tournament) |
| 12 | Maryland | 7-5 | 14 | 4/29 vs. Michigan (Big Ten tournament) |
| 13 | Johns Hopkins | 7-5 | 15 | 4/29 vs. No. 18 Penn State (Big Ten tournament) |
| 14 | Virginia | 8-7 | 8 | 4/28 vs. No. 4 Boston College (ACC tournament) |
| 15 | Stanford | 9-0 | 16 | TBD |
| 16 | Jacksonville | 7-1 | 9 | 4/30 at Kennesaw State |
| 17 | Rutgers | 5-7 | 17 | 4/29 vs. Ohio State (Big Ten tournament) |
| 18 | Penn State | 4-8 | 18 | 4/29 vs. No. 13 Johns Hopkins (Big Ten tournament) |
| 19 | Denver | 12-1 | 19 | 4/29 vs. Colorado |
| 20 | UMass | 13-2 | NR | 4/30 vs. Davidson (A-10 tournament) |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Colorado, Louisville, Ohio State, Temple, Vanderbilt
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Drexel (+3)
The Dragons make their first appearance of the season in the top 10, and it’s a position they’ve certainly earned. At 12-1, Drexel has won seven straight games, including CAA victories over Towson (twice) and Hofstra (twice).
The CAA tournament begins May 7.
NOT
Jacksonville (-7)
It was 20 days between games when Jacksonville took the field Friday, and Coastal Carolina’s fiery performance got the better of the Dolphins. That far and away represents Coastal’s best win this season.
To the Dolphins’ credit, they responded two days later to double up Liberty 22-11. Jacksonville remains an interesting team as the NCAA tournament looms, and it’s possible the Coastal result was just a blip on the radar.
Virginia (-6)
Losers of five straight games, the Cavaliers have admittedly faced a gauntlet of upper echelon ACC teams. They’ve lost to Notre Dame, Syracuse and twice to North Carolina. Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech, a team that entered the game winless in ACC play, seemingly could have been a reprieve.
The Hokies instead won the game 20-15 in Charlottesville, putting the Cavaliers in a tailspin headed into the conference tournament.
IN
UMass (No. 20)
There might not be a more scorching team than UMass right now. The Minutewomen have won 12 straight since falling to 1-2, with Sunday’s 18-13 win over Saint Joseph’s putting them in position to enter the Atlantic 10 tournament on Friday on a high note. UMass will play Davidson at 4 p.m. Eastern.
OUT
Michigan (was No. 20)
By losing to Johns Hopkins twice this weekend, the Wolverines end the regular season (a tumultuous one) on a five-game losing streak. At 3-8, Michigan likely needs the automatic qualifier from the Big Ten tournament to make the NCAA tournament, but everyone knows that AQ runs through undefeated Northwestern.